Dolphin Tale

WONDERFUL!! Will walk away feeling this movie..
Just wanted to take a moment out to say a few words about this film. I do not go to movie theaters much due to their costs ever rising. I usually wait for dvd anymore. This one we actually did go see on the big screen. My 5 yr old wanted to see it. I took her and my mother to go see it and we ALL loved it. It will make you laugh, and cheer and even get teary eyed. It is not super depressing like some animal films. Instead it shows hope, courage, faith and perseverance and how people can come together and make things happen through trials. Great cast, cute movie. Best part is it is based on a true story. so cool. We will be buying this one when it comes out for sure!! I highly recommend this movie to anyone, kids or no kids..

An inspirational, feel good movie for the entire family!
My husband and I took our first-grader to watch this beautiful, uplifting movie this past weekend and had the most wonderful time. When the movie ended, the audience broke out in spontaneous applause, that's how much this movie affected all of us. Dolphin Tale is the story of overcoming the odds, of love between family and love among friends, and of courage and resilience.

Set in Clearwater, Florida and inspired by a true story (yes, there is a real Winter the Dolphin!), the story centers on a young boy Sawyer (Nathan Gamble in a finely nuanced performance) who is portrayed as being despondent at the beginning of the movie - he is sad that his cousin,Kyle (Austin Stowell) a champion swimmer is going away to serve the country as a soldier. Kyle is Sawyer's role model and mentor, and the closest thing he has to a 'dad' figure given his own father left the family when he was very young. Sawyer's mom, Lorraine (Ashely Judd) tries her best to cope and provide for Sawyer, but she...

A well-crafted tale that everyone can enjoy
Dolphin Tale is, first and foremost, a great family movie. What I mean by that is that everyone - kids and adults alike - can enjoy it and never feel either bored or like they're being talked down to. A lot of craftsmanship went into the making of this movie and it shows, mainly in how seamlessly it flows and how well everything fits together.

The movie centers around the true story of Winter, a young bottlenose dolphin found on a beach in coastal Florida whose tail was injured and ended up having to be amputated. The humans taking care of Winter ultimately had to create a prosthetic tail in order for her to survive, and in the process she became an inspiration to many, from children who were born missing a limb to veterans who had lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Dolphin Tale, the plot begins with Sawyer (Nathan Gamble), a young boy who's been withdrawn ever since his father left the family five years earlier and who's having to deal with his older cousin...

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Human Planet

Humans vs. nature, another fascinating BBC series
This review is based on the UK Blu-Ray release and, so far, there seems to be no reason to believe that the US version will be any different.

If you have seen the BBC's superb previous flagship series 'Life', then I can summarize this as being the human version of that series by way of Planet Earth: A collection of exotic and sensational footage of humans, some living in various cities or villages around the world, but most of them at the fringes of civilization, all having to meet nature's challenges using ingenuity, daring and downright unusual or dangerous solutions. This includes dealings with environmental dangers, human extents to find or hunt for food in the most extreme environments, various extreme forms of human dwellings and adaptations, and the many types of relationships between humans and animals ranging from exploitative, to practical survival tactics or pest-control, the religious, the conservationist, etc. The structure of these 8 episodes is modeled after...

The Human Planet - The most remarkable species of all.
It was Mark Twain who is usually credited with originating the maxim that "the only two certainties in life are death and taxes" He was wrong since Twain never had the benefit of the wonders of the BBC Natural History Unit. Their certainty appears to be the complete inability to construct a bad series and in achieving the consistant feat of producing the most wonderful and lavish programmes which throughly inform and educate at the same time. This latest series is a variant on a theme since the "Human Planet" looks at us as a species particularly our behaviour in subsistence and fundamentally dangerous environments (with the exception of the last episode "Cities") where humans are most challenged by nature, eco systems or competition with other mammals and animals.

The Human Planet is a series packed with what television producers describe as the "gawp factor". It is beautifully filmed and the intriguing "Behind the Lens" segments to every programme show the scale of the...

The DVDs are much more than you saw on TV
After watching it on Discovery, there are three reasons I bought this DVD:

1. It is surprisingly raw for American TV. Normally Americans prefer to watch cute people eat dirty things, rather than watching dirty people eat cute things. Audiences complain when people living in harsh conditions kill whales to survive. Not everyone wants to be confronted with the messier, complicated reality when they can find solace in a simplified television narrative. That this show has the temerity and honesty to require a parental a advisory for "disturbing content and indigenous nudity" instantly wins a place in my heart.

2. This series presents what I believe is our best way forward with the environment. It shows an alternative to our conquer or be conquered conflict with nature. The idea that man can live as part of nature rather than as either as it's master or at its mercy is ultimately the key to our own survival. The key is not to absent ourselves from nature, but...

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Adore

Variations on the Oedipal Complex
The audience is polarized in response to this astonishingly refreshing and brilliant little film: some are completely disgusted with the theme of `aberrant love' while other are awash in the courageous work by director Anne Fontaine, Fontaine and Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Doris Lessing's short story `The Grandmothers', and the acting by two of our finest actresses on the screen. Knowing that it is both loved and hated depending on the degree of appreciation for experimental film should be the driving force as to whether or not to take advantage witnessing this brave new film.

In New South Wales, Roz (Robin Wright), her husband Harold (Ben Mendelsohn) and their son Tom (James Frecheville) live near the beach. Lil, (Naomi Watts) who is a widow, lives nearby with her son Ian (Xavier Samuel). Roz and Lil are best friends, and so are Tom and Ian. Harold applies for and is offered a job in Sydney without telling Roz. He expects Roz to move to Sydney with him, however,...

Surprsingly Enjoyable
This was at times odd, uncomfortable, and disturbing..but yet strangely enjoyable to watch. It draws you in and tosses you around a bit. At first, I was appalled at the "crossed lines" and seemingly lack of good judgement and self control, but then as the story continued I got use to the idea of it all, and came to the conclusion that there is nothing inherently wrong with four people who want nothing more than to love, be loved, and experience an intense connection with another. This movie wouldn't have worked had it not been for the strong performances, especially by the two actresses, who would be beautiful at any age.

Absolutely fantastic!
Man, this movie keeps you guessing, builds great tension, and has some of the best moments I've seen all year. There is no nudity and nearly no violence, but that doesn't stop it from being an absolute thrill ride. America made movies like this once upon a time, but at least Australia and other foreign countries can still produce good, edgy, thoughtful drama.

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The Tomorrow Boys

Almost Perfect! But not quite.
85 Snazzes on the 100 Point Snazz-o-Scale.

This is a very good Jimmy Neutron DVD Collection.
-First, about Jimmy Neutron, in case you don't know. Jimmy is a Boy Genius, a cartoon from Nickelodeon. He invents all kinds of wonderful devices, from a simple Hovercar, to a Shrink Ray to Books On Gum (Something Amazon should explore.) Adventures and silliness always follow! Jimmy is often accompanied by his friends, Sheen and Carl, his best buddies; his robotic pet dog, Goddard; and two girls and love interests named Cindy and Libby. (Jimmy with Cindy, Sheen with Libby. Carl? Check out the last episode in this collection.) The animation is simply superb; three dimensional computer graphics with astonishing attention to detail, reflections, shadows, mirrors, and moving backgrounds. It's not Pixar, but it sure isn't the Fairly Oddparents either. Better still, every episode is at least funny, and at most fall-on-the-floor hilarious.
-The Collection is very good. Though I...

Good DVD even though they need season sets.
Great DVD but JN needs season sets. Episode summaries:

Disc 1:
Lights! Camera! Danger!: Jimmy, Carl, Sheen, Cindy and Libby join a movie with a demanding director (Professor Calatimous in disguise) where he wants them to do death-defying stunts that can easily kill them.
Crouching Jimmy, Hidden Sheen: Libby is taken by ninjas and Sheen must learn karate and save her.
The Incredible Shrinking Town: Jimmy shrinks the whole town of Retroville.
One of Us/Vanishing Act: Jimmy hears of a new young children show called "The Happy Show Show", which is about an elderly lady. Soon, everyone loves it, but Jimmy and Cindy learn it's hypnotized everyone and that the elderly lady is an alien./Jimmy spends time with a magician.
Fundemonium: Hugh makes a fortune creating a brand of children's toys, but the Nanobots soon get inside them and control them to destroy Retroville.

Disc 2:
The Tomorrow Boys: Traveling into the future, Jimmy, Carl and Sheen...

jimmy neutron
I like most all of there movies there cool and have some intelligence to them these are some of the good ones of jimmy neutron

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Christmas Classics Box Set (Miracle on 34th Street / Jingle All the Way / Home Alone / A Christmas Carol)

Great bargain, but a mixed bag.
This is a great bargain. Don't get me wrong! I would buy this again if it got lost. Can't beat the price for 4 good Christmas flicks.

Although I do wish they had included a newer edition of HOME ALONE in here. This one is the older letterboxed edition that is not enhanced for widescreen TVs. If your DVD player/TV/projector has the picture zoom option like mine, you can escape the problem with the black frame all around the picture on a widescreen TV, but the resolution/picture quality is still poor, of course.

JINGLE ALL THE WAY was the same thing, despite the deceptive cover which stated that the movie on the DVD was included in both Full Frame and Anamorphic Widescreen versions. Not so! The same crippled leterboxed frame.

No complaints about either the MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, which is presented here in beautiful Anamorphic Widescreen, or A CHRISTMAS CAROL, which, as a made for TV movie, is presented in Full Frame, maintaining the original aspect...

What A Bargain
Shop around and you will see this set generally sells for around $32. Any one of the movies easily sells for $9.99. The movies themselves are all great. "Home Alone" most people are familiar with Macauley Caulkin causing havoc on burglars. In "Jingle All the Way", Arnold Schwarzenegger goes nuts trying to buy a kid a hot new toy. George C. Scott is excellent as Ebenezer Scrooge in another version of "A Christmas Carol". The remake of "Miracle on 34th Street" is good as well. I had two of these but for this price I bought the set so I could get the other two and then give two away or donate two to a good cause.

Great addition to the holiday collection on DVD
Great condition. Prompt service. Wonderful price. We will really enjoy these DVD editions when Christmas rolls around again. (DVD takes up so much less room than our old clunky VHS versions!)

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Shrek the Musical

You Can Put This Ogre On Broadway, But You Can't Take Him Out Of The Swamp
While generally I'm opposed to the trend of turning every movie into a big theater production, some certainly lend themselves to the format better than others. It's a symbol of our times, a Broadway production is so expensive and so risky, they want those seats pre-sold with a familiar brand. That's the same reason we get so many carbon copy sequels and remakes in the cineplexes! Whatever happened to actual creativity? When I watched the original "Shrek" at the movies, I thought it was one of the five very best films of the year (that was the year the Academy created the Best Animation category and gave "Shrek" the award, but I've always maintained it should have been up for Best Picture as well). It was smart AND slyly subversive, pleasing for the kids at face value and a treat for adults in its scathing satire and wit. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled with the many sequels that followed (although most were serviceable) and I groaned when I heard the green ogre was going to...

Review of BD -The original cast production preserved - for generations to come. Great score too!
When Dreamworks first released the original CGI film, SHREK, it gave Disney's animation studio a run for their money. It even poked fun at Disney characters. It took the position that adults could enjoy some double-entendre humor while the kids would love the graphics. SHREK spawned two sequels too! Then Dreamworks decided (like Disney with "Beauty and the Beast" to conquer Broadway by creating - and producing - a musical version of the film. The 2009 show got nine Tony noms (no wins) and played successfully in NY. A whopping 17 songs (in a two-hour show) were composed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori to keep the show going. The music is - in my opinion - a combination of Alan Menken's score for "Little Shop of Horrors" and Marc Shaiman's for "Hairspray". A lot of fun.

So, with Dreamworks being a FILM company, they decided to film a live performance with the ORIGINAL Broadway Cast (before they left the company). And that resulted in this 2012...

Fabulous musical adaptation
I owned the audio CD well before this DVD came out, so I was very familiar with all of the songs. The play is delightful. It's tough to put a cartoon into a live musical play, but like the Lion King, this one was really successful. All of the principles are fabulous in their roles. Pinocchio hits some amazing soprano notes. Donkey is just as funny if not funnier than Eddie Murphy. The background stories and some of the extra items that were added to the original Shrek story fleshed out the characters even more and gave you more of a reason to love them. Even Farquod has a back story. Would love to know Donkey's back story, but some other time I suppose.

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The Lake Nose Monster: Parts 1 & 2 [HD]

Phineas and Ferb Rock!!
Everything about Phineas and Ferb is five-star amazing. It is the most watched children's cartoon ever, by adults. Okay, there was no good way to phrase that sentence. It is popular with both my girls and their grandmothers and everyone in between.

To give the video a one-star review because you didn't understand the download rules is unfair.

I wrote this review just to balance things out a little. Now if a few other people could chime in with some five-star reviews, perhaps we could get this rating up to where it belongs!!

Great Show
This is one of the few shows we as parents enjoy as much as the kids. We appreciate that while it is a TV show, it's encouraging of kids to get outside, use their imaginations, and do things. The kids are respectful to their parents (a HUGE plus in our opinion!). Parents, you'll find that you can enjoy this show as much as your children.

Phineas and Ferb Is the best :)
Phineas and Ferb is fun for all ages Disney show. This episode is about. First, Candace is at the end of the world because her boyfriend,Jeremy Johnson, cancels their date so the boys try to cheer here up. Dr. Doofensmirtz is trying to make Agent P trying to look bad by making robot copies of him to do evil things. Next Candace is trying to make to a concert but the tickets are sold out ,but she has a chance by being a Fireside girl and having to earn 50 patches in one day. Dr Doffensmirtz is trying to destroy the bridge to the cupcake factory so he can lose weight. Find out what happens.

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